Emergency Repairs

To access contact details for the nominated emergency repair contractor in your area CLICK HERE.

Emergency repairs are repairs for:

a burst water service or a serious water service leak

a blocked or broken lavatory service

a serious roof leak

a gas leak

a dangerous electrical fault

flooding or serious flood damage

serious storm, fire or impact damage

a failure or breakdown of the gas, electricity or water supply to the property

a failure or breakdown of an essential service or hot water, cooking or heating appliance

a fault or damage that makes the property unsafe or insecure

a fault or damage likely to injure a person, damage property or unduly inconvenience a resident of the property

a serious fault in a staircase, lift or other common area or premises that unduly inconveniences a resident in gaining access to, or using, the property

All other repairs are considered to be routine repairs.

Fast facts

A tenant/resident must notify the property manager/owner or manager in writing of the need for an emergency repair. In an emergency the nominated repairer can be contacted directly if the property manager/owner or manager is unavailable.

If there is a nominated repairer they should be listed on the tenancy agreement.

If the property manager/owner/manager or the nominated repairer cannot be contacted, the tenant can arrange a suitably qualified person to carry out the repair. The tenant can pay the repairer themselves and get the money back from the property manager/owner/manager or get the repairer to bill the property manager/owner/manager. They should forward all receipts to the property manager/owner/manager who must pay them back within 7 days.

If the tenant pays for emergency repairs the cost must not exceed the value of 2 weeks rent.

If the tenant and property manager/owner/manager do not agree about the emergency repairs, or if the property manager/owner/manager has not reimbursed the tenant within 7 days, they can apply to QCAT for a ruling.

A tenant should not stop paying their rent to force the property manager/owner/manager to undertake repairs. This is a breach of the tenancy agreement.

The RTA encourages people to try to resolve tenancy issues by communicating with each other. Find out more about dispute resolution.